Each Day's a Brand New Life
by Twisted Ingenue
Summary: Sam and Dean have fought a demon in Idaho and rescued a fearstricken girl. The girl feels scared, Dean feels it's his responsibility to protect her, and Sam has no idea what he feels. Warning...violence and slightly explicit material. WINCEST!
1. No news is good news

_**A.N. I just want to say that this story starts with a newspaper article and…yes…it's supposed to sound kind of stupid…so don't critique me on that. And…I'd like to tell you…though I will try in every way possible to keep this story T rated, some snippets may contain some M rated material…I'm sorry about it if this occurs. Also…this story takes place during the time of Season **__**3**__**…just letting you know.**_

**Strange Disappearances Puzzle Pocatello**

**By: Christopher Valet**

** The peaceful city of Pocatello, Idaho has been thrust into a mysterious nightmare. In the past month, there have been eight different disappearances with no trail left behind. Coincidence? I think not. Look at the list of people that have disappeared:**

**Vanessa H****amilton (27) Caucasian Female**

**Andrea Johnson (24) Caucasian Female**

**Katherine (Katie) Osmond (25) Caucasian Female**

**Claire Hepburn (24) Caucasian Female**

**Dorothy (Dolly) Perkins (24) Caucasian Female**

**Sarah Whelan (21) Caucasian Female**

**Abigail Martin (26) Caucasian Female**

** Lucinda (Lucy) Love (23) Caucasian Female ****REPORTED MISSING YESTERDAY**

** Are we starting to see a pattern? I think so. And the chilling discovery was made that each of these young women were considerably attractive.**** Are the victims possibly being sold into sexual slavery or worse? We don't know, but the detectives believe that if more information is found on the victims, they might possibly be able to trace where they are being held now. We were able to get a snippet of an interview with one of the victim's (Lucy Love) boss at the restaurant, "Melton's":**

**"Lucy worked overtime every day…I assume she's having financial problems. Apparently she's had many jobs before…it says so on her resume…but she wasn't fired…she quit. So…I think she hasn't been kidnapped…she must've run away to find a new - - - -ty, minimum wage job somewhere else."**

**Though her boss is skeptical, Lucy's landlord thinks otherwise**

**"Well…though I eventually had to evict her, I knew she was going through a rough time. She had no family to speak of since her sister died about three months ago. Since her family couldn't afford health insurance, she's been having to pay off her sister's gruesome medical bills. The girl had no ****extra money to pay rent. But…I knew she has to have disappeared…I mean…where could she go? And why would she leave her stuff behind?"**

**Well…we'll keep you updated. Check the paper tomorrow for more news.**

…..

"This paper is bullshit," Dean Winchester grumbled as he threw the newspaper in the garbage bin.

"Dean," Sam, his younger brother, chided. "Did you look through it carefully?" Sam got up from the cheap motel loveseat and salvaged the newspaper from the trashcan. He opened it up and carefully scanned over the article. His brow furrowed and his tongue started to peek out from the corner of his mouth. "Hmm…"

"What? You find a typo?" Dean took a sip of coffee from a "Hooters" mug. He wrinkled his nose and spat the coffee back out. "God damn it, Sammy! What the hell did you put in this coffee?"

"It's a hell of a lot better than the pot you brewed yesterday," Sam muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Dean shouted from the bathroom as he dumped the mug's contents in the toilet. A loud splash and a flushing sound were heard.

"Nothing!" Sam yelled back. Dean sauntered back out and plopped down beside Sam.

"Nothing my ass," Dean gave Sam a playful shove.

"Dean…look here," Sam pushed the article directly under his brother's nose and pointed at a section. Dean snatched it away and skimmed over it.

"What!?" Dean said in annoyance.

Sam sighed and began massaging his temples. "The part about her landlord. He said he evicted her…but he thought she had been kidnapped because _she left her stuff behind_. It makes no sense…"

"He probably had just evicted her, Sammy," Dean said nonchalantly. "I mean…they don't send you out of the house right away. They give you a couple of days."

Sam started gaping at his older brother for a minute. Had _Dean_ outsmarted him? Before Sam could speak, Dean tousled his hair, making it stick up in odd places.

"Aw! Little Sammy got outsmarted!"

"Shut up, Dean," Sam snapped as he flattened down his dark hair. His look darkened. "We need to get to the bottom of this one."

"Seems like a sex predator to me," Dean shrugged. "I mean…what makes you think that it's a demon behind this?"

"Dean…how is this guy not getting caught?" Both brothers shared a look of mutual understanding. "And…I don't know…I kind of just _sense_ that there's a demon in this town."

"Or _demons_," Dean added grimly.

"We have to be ready for anything. Who knows what we let out? We've got to know that we aren't just going to be seeing our every day demons."

"Alright, Sammy," Dean gave Sam a pat on the shoulder. "Do you have a plan?"

"Yep," Sam replied as he clapped his hands together. "We're going to Melton's tonight,"

"Melton's?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

Sam groaned. "The place one of the victims worked! A restaurant! The place the girl was last seen…"

"Oh yeah…that Lucy chick," Dean stood up.

"Yes, Dean. _That Lucy chick._"

…….

"The police have already been through the surveillance camera tapes." The manager of Melton's loosened his crimson-red tie and strutted over to the Winchester brothers that stood before him. "Why do you young detectives need to see them as well?"

"Please, sir," Sam took a step closer to the short, balding man. "I think they might've missed something,"

The manager rubbed his chin. "You said this was for the Lucy Love case?"

"More or less," Sam replied as he turned around and gave Dean a nasty look that said,

"Stop playing with the manager's bobble- head toys!"

Dean took the hint, but still gave the Donald Trump toy one last thump on the side of the head.

"Well…if it's for Lucy, then I'll let you watch the tape. She was really a great employee. She was so optimistic and had such a great sense of humor." The manager smiled weakly and went rifling through his desk.

Both boys tried not to think of what a great person Lucy might've been, for they knew that Lucy was probably dead.

"Here you go," The manager handed Sam a rather plain looking, black video tape. "Now…off you go!" The man waved the boys out of the room. "You can keep it too."

Dean and Sam looked at each other and left the office.

……..

"Go back!" Dean commanded as he pointed at a figure on the screen. Sam fumbled with the remote and pressed the rewind button. "There! Stop there!" Sam pressed "play" and the brothers fixed their eyes on the television.

An extremely handsome man in his late twenties sat down by himself at a booth. His waitress came up with a notepad. She was fairly attractive with a slender, feminine figure and pretty facial features. Her eye and hair color were hard to make out since the video was in black and white.

Dean let out a whistle. This caused Sam to give him a jab in the ribs as he paused the video.

"Dean…that's Lucy. Look at her nametag." Sam pointed at the small rectangular nametag pinned onto the right side of the waitress' chest. Indeed, the nametag read "Lucy".

"She's got a nice ass," Dean remarked.

"What is your problem?" Sam turned to his brother. "I mean it as a genuine question. This is serious business and all you can think about is girl's…things!"

"Sorry to _offend_ you or anything," Dean rolled his eyes. "Play the video,"

Sam grumbled as he pressed the button. The figures on the screen began to move again. The waitress looked like she was taking the handsome man's order for a drink and everything looked normal. A few minutes later, the girl came back with a soda. She began scribbling down his order and walked off. In about fifteen minutes, she came back with food. She stayed for a little while as the man ate and they looked as if they were making small talk. Eventually she left and came back with the bill. He paid and left. She cleaned up the table and left for good.

"Looks pretty normal to me, Sammy," Dean shrugged.

"Hmm…" Sam played the video over again.

After watching the video over for about five times, Dean stood up and exclaimed,

"Sam! Go back to where she talked to him while he ate! I think I saw something!"

Sam's trembling fingers pressed the "rewind" button. Both boys looked at the screen again.

"Sam…look at this guy's hand,"

Sam squinted his eyes and looked at the man's hand that was under the table. It was moving around rapidly with strange motions.

"Wait!" Sam slammed his thumb down on the "pause" button and jabbed his finger on the screen. "Dean, look _what's on_ this guy's hand."

On the top of the handsome man's hand was a strange symbol. The symbol looked to be two circles placed right next to each other with a knife sticking upright below where the two circles touched.

"What is it?" Dean inquired in a whisper.

"I don't know. I've never seen it be…" Sam stopped midsentence.

"Sammy?' Dean began to get concerned.

The younger Winchester shushed Dean and got up from the couch. He rushed over to one of the drawers he had deposited his valuables in and began tearing through it.

"Sam, what the hell are you doing?" Dean asked with exasperation.

Sam held up his hand as he pulled out a leather-bound, moss colored book. The silver letters engraved on the cover read, symbol

**"Insignias of Evil: How to recognize demonic symbols"**

"Where'd you get that?" Dean questioned.

"Bobby," was Sam's short answer.

"Bobby?"

Sam ignored Dean as he hurried back to the couch and tried not impale himself on numerous springs that poked out of the cushions. He began flipping through the book rapidly, until he finally cried out triumphantly,

"Ah-Hah!" Sam put the book down in his lap. A very curious and confused Dean pulled one side of the book in his own lap and began peering down at the page inquisitively.

"Sam…have you read this?" Dean's face was ashen and his eyes were wide.

"Well…I haven't gotten the time. I've just skimmed over this book, really," Sam admitted sheepishly.

"Sam," Dean was speaking slowly with a definite note of fear in his voice. "Read it…and read it aloud."

Dean shoved the book into Sam's hands and pointed to where he should begin. Sam took a deep breath and read,

"This symbol is the mark of a Succubini demon. The sign is, more often than not, burned into the back of the hand when a human is unfortunate enough to be possessed by this demon. The symbol represents the breasts of a woman…and a knife…stabbing them." Sam paused.

"Go on," Dean murmured. "Skip to the next paragraph,"

When Sam had found his place, he continued,

"Succubinis are a very peculiar sort of demon. They like to inhabit the most attractive body they can find (always a male body) and they seduce attractive, virgin young women with their powers. They like to have many victims, but each victim is selected with care and captured individually. Once a woman is captured, the Succubini will torture her by means of physical pain, tempting illusions, taunting words, starving her, and eventually killing her. But the reason Succubinis are so strange is because instead of just torturing women …they inflict nightmarish sexual pleasures upon them such as…" Sam's eyes widened as he looked at the next few sentences. "Dean…do I have to?"

"No," Dean whispered. "But…all I know is, we've got to find this demon. We still have a chance of saving Lucy."

"The others must be dead by now," Sam shuddered. "I mean…if we find the Succubini…and the bodies…what will the girl's families do?" Sam was referring to what a Succubini did to a girl after he'd kill her. He'd strip her, mutilate her, and hang her upside down from a rope on the ceiling.

"Don't think about it, Sammy," Dean slapped his little brother on the back. "It'll only make matters worse."

Sam turned to his older brother with a forced smile. "Thanks, bro,"

Dean shrugged. "No biggie,"


	2. Agony's Captive

"Are you awake, dear?"

Lucy Love's slumber was rudely interrupted by a malicious, vile voice. Lucy bolted upright and looked at her surroundings. Everything was pitch-black and she could feel that her arms and legs had been tied together with rope.

The girl's voice was panicky. "Where am I?"

"With me," The voice sniggered nastily. A clapping sound was heard and an eerie, red light illuminated the room.

Now that the room was discernable, Lucy could see that she had been dressed in a very small, red silk dress and her ash-blonde hair that was usually in a ponytail, had been let down so that the straight locks hung a little below her shoulders.

At the very moment Lucy looked up she knew she'd made a grave error. Hanging from the ceiling, on the wall across from her, were seven bodies that hung upside down. Lucy recognized one of them…Claire Hepburn. All the other bodies had defaced beyond recognition, but Lucy knew in her heart that the seven bodies dangling from the ceiling were the seven girls that had gone missing. And Lucy had a sick feeling that she was the eight.

Lucy let out an earsplitting scream once she realized what was before her. Seven beautiful girls (one that had been her friend) had had their lives cut short and the memory of them had been vandalized. These girls had all died painful, ghastly deaths and Lucy was going to join them. It was too much for the poor girl to bear and she started crying bitter, wretched tears.

"Don't cry, it'll be alright _in the end_," The voice derided her. Lucy's dark brown eyes blazed as she looked to see where the voice was coming from.

A very handsome man was leaning against the wall. He had golden-blonde hair, sapphire blue eyes, and a muscular body. Lucy recognized him immediately as the man that she had met at "Melton's". She had liked this kind man immensely and her heart fluttered with joy. He was here to save her! Better yet, the attractive man fancied her and that was why he was rescuing her.

"Oh, thank the Lord you're here!" Lucy proclaimed joyously as she tried to wriggle free from her bonds. "Hey, could you help untie these?"

The man walked over with a smirk playing on his lips and he bent down to face the hopeful girl. "I don't think that will be necessary, Lucy my dear."

A shiver ran down her spine. She never remembered his voice being so unpleasant. "Umm…we might want to hurry. Whoever did this might get back and…"

"Oh, don't you fret…he's here," The man's blue eyes were engulfed in black. Lucy whimpered and his eyes were blue again. "And there's no need to hurry. I like taking my time."

"You don't mean…"

"Oh, Lucy, Lucy, Lucy," The way he said her name made Lucy's stomach churn. "Lucy, Lucy…" The sound of her name began echoing all around the room, getting louder and louder as it reached closer to her ears.

"What are you?!" Lucy cried out in alarm.

"Just a humble Succubini," The man said casually.

"A what?!" Lucy was befuddled.

"I'm just your average, every day _demon_," His eyes flashed and turned black again.

Lucy reached for the silver cross that normally hung on her throat, but it was gone and all she touched was the flesh of her bare, expose collarbone.

"Yes, Lucy…I took that off too. It wasn't as easy to rip off as your other things…" His eyes glinted evilly. "But, I managed."

Lucy felt so ill that she almost vomited on the floor. Hot tears sprang up in her eyes and they trickled down her face…scorching her cheeks.

"What did I say about crying, dear?" The man chuckled. "Oh yes…you haven't heard my thoughts about crying. I almost thought you were little Abigail for a moment...well…anyways, I told her that crying made her eyes and face red and puffy. It's so unflattering to everyone…"

"You're crazy!" Lucy spat. "That's all you are…a crazy, sick man. You're not a demon…demons don't even exist!"

The man took her by the neck with a loose grip. "Oh, don't worry. You'll see I'm a demon soon enough." He started twisting her hair in his fingers. "A demon that you will call Peter,"

……………

"Well," Bobby pushed up his baseball cap. "I'll be damned. Those Succubini usually rot in hell from the lack of victims and now we have one making itself at home in Idaho."

The Winchester boys had told Bobby everything about the Succubini case in hopes that Bobby might know how to kill one.

"Do you know anything else?" Sam was soaking in every word that Bobby said like a sponge.

"Hmm…" Bobby scratched under his chin. "They like to give themselves names."

"Huh?" Dean cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah…they give themselves a name and tell their victims to address them by said name."

Dean pressed Bobby harder. "How do we destroy it?"

"Like any other demon that possesses a human…a demon trap…and a certain spell…"

"Do you have this spell?" Sam asked.

"Yep!" Bobby started digging around in his coat pocket.

"Er…Bobby?" Dean raised one eyebrow. "You just happen to have it in your coat pocket?"

"Can never be too prepared," Bobby said as he handed Dean a piece of paper. "I copied it down a while ago."

The brothers shrugged and Dean folded the piece of paper.

"Anything else?" Dean stood up and jammed the spell in the back pocket of his jeans.

"Wait!" Bobby gripped Dean's shoulder. "I need to tell you one more thing,"

"Alright then…shoot," Dean grinned.

"Make sure you get it away from its victim first. You can't destroy it when its victim is in contact with it. One of you needs to distract it while the other one gets the girl out of the way."

"Okay, then." Dean nodded.

"But let me warn you. A Succubini is very…_touchy_…about its victims. Take her away without killing him and you'll be dead in five hours…_tops_. Don't take the girl away without destroying the demon…no matter how pathetic she'll look. I repeat…if you haven't killed the demon…don't take her…leave her. You're no good when you're dead." Bobby took his hand away from Dean's shoulder. "Don't get all noble again,"

"Well…I'll distract the demon and Sam will get the girl." Dean turned to Sam. "And we'll _both_ kill that Succubini bastard."

…………………………

"Lucy, dear…I'm going to step outside for a while…then afterwards we'll have some fun," Peter's eyes gleamed with malevolent delight as he pinched her cheek and walked out of the room. The door slammed behind him.

Lucy let out a despondent sob as she crumpled to the ground. Her newly acquired chains clattered the floor. Lucy wanted to die more than anything. Why couldn't Peter just get it over with and kill her already?

"Don't be sad, Lucy-Goosey,"

The sad girl slowly lifted up her head. Was it really who she thought it was?

"Lucy-Goosey?"

Lucy started crying tears of joy. It was her father standing at the door! Who else called her by that name?

"Daddy?" Lucy's voice was cracked. Her Dad had died three years ago. How was he still alive?

"I'm here, Lucy" Her father smiled warmly and his dark-brown eyes twinkled. He had her eyes. "Megan, Leo, and your mother are waiting in the car."

"Megan?! Leo?! Mom?!" Lucy began weeping. Her sister, brother, and mother were all deceased as well. "Daddy, this is too good to be true!"

"Lucy…I have something to tell you." Her father frowned. "It is too good to be true!"

"Wh…?"

But before she could finish, the features of her father started melting away like wax. Before she knew it, her beloved father had morphed into Peter.

"Well, my dear…what an experience. You were much more fun than the other girls." Peter picked up the ends of Lucy's chains and drew her closer to him. "You're lonelier than other girls and more willing to suspend your disbelief. "

"How could you?!" Lucy shrieked as she began crying hysterically.

Peter laughed. "I'm a demon…cut me some slack." Peter dragged Lucy over to a large bed with wooden posts and chained her to it. "Now…if I'm not mistaken…I said that we'd have a little fun,"

Lucy was horrorstruck. "Peter, please…I…I…"

"Are you getting cold feet?" Peter taunted her."You seemed pretty interested in me at the restaurant." Peter feigned sadness. "Do you not love me anymore?"

"I hate you," Lucy hissed.

Peter ignored her and crept onto the bed. He put a hand on her hip and squeezed it. Lucy began to writhe and scream from his touch. Peter struck her across the face.

"We can't have that, can we?" Peter remarked. Lucy continued to struggle. "Well…I guess you leave me no choice."

Peter leapt up off of the bed and grabbed something on top of a splintery nightstand. To Lucy's horror, she saw that it was a large injection needle. Getting shots was Lucy's greatest fear in the world.

Peter held it under her nose and she shrunk back as far as her chains would allow.

"Don't worry…I don't have anything to inject in you," Peter pretended to misinterpret her reaction.

"No…please…anything…" Lucy felt faint from the mere sight of the needle.

"Now, Lucy dear…I have to punish you." Peter jammed the needle into her right arm. Lucy let out an agonized, bloodcurdling scream from the horrible needle being inserted deep inside her flesh. Eventually, Peter yanked it out and Lucy's crimson blood began snaking down her arm.

"You don't want me to do that again, do you?" Peter leered. Lucy shook her head. "Now...can we get this show on the road?"

………………

"So…you're actually supposed to knock on its door?" Dean almost laughed as he looked at the instructions Bobby gave him.

"Dean! Keep your hands on the wheel!"

Dean chucked the list over to Sam and hastily gripped the steering wheel. Dean had just avoided running the car into a steep rock quarry.

"Son of a bitch," Dean grumbled. "Anyways…how are we supposed to tell where it is? I mean…there are probably no signs hanging up or red balloons in the lawn."

Sam scanned the paper carefully. "Well…Bobby said they always live on deserted farms," Sam looked out the window of the passenger seat. "And this is the only deserted farm in Pocatello."

"_Shit!"_ Dean slammed on the brakes. Both boys were thrust forward with a jolt. Though, it didn't really matter since they were the only ones on the dusty farm road. They had left the highway about thirty minutes ago.

"Dean!" Sam chastised irately. "You could've gotten us killed by that!"

"Sam," Dean tried to regain an unruffled composure. Though, it was obvious that the oldest Winchester was hiding behind a façade since he was clenching his teeth. "This…farm…is…gigantic." He let out a perturbed laugh. "How the hell are we supposed to find some little demon shack?!"

"Pull over," Sam ordered. Dean grudgingly obeyed and parked his car on the side of the road. Sam turned the paper around and peered down at it. He started to read,

"Often found in dead wheat fields…"

Dean looked around at the numerous wheat fields surrounding them. "Oh…really helpful, Sammy…"

"Shut up!" Sam snapped. He looked down the page,

"The way you can tell if a Succubini is in a certain wheat field is the tips of the wheat. It is very subtle, so look carefully. The tips of every one of the dead wheat stalks will be blood-red…"

Dean unbuckled his seatbelt and sprung out of the car.

"Dean!" Sam moaned as he followed him outside of the car…paper of instructions in hand. "You need to…"

"Sam!" Dean hissed. "I think I've got this under control."

"You _thin__k_?!"

"Shh!" Dean moved stealthily over to one of the wheat fields. He pulled up the end of a stalk and looked at it. "Nope," He sprinted off to the wheat field on the left and yanked a dead stalk out of the ground, exposing its roots.

"Dean! We should probably drive further! I doubt that it's h…"

"Found it!" Dean shouted triumphantly.

Not wasting any time, Sam sprinted over to his brother and snatched the stalk away from him. The withered tip of the stalk was indeed a blood-red color.

"It says we towards where the sun is setting," Sam whispered.

Sam and Dean looked up at the orange sky and found the sun low in the sky. West was a little to their right, apparently.

"You ready?" Dean zipped up his jean jacket.

"Yep," Sam replied as he pulled out a stick of chalk.

"Let's go then,"


	3. Desires to die

She had never felt so bare, exposed, and degraded in her entire life. Lucy had been stripped of more than just her clothes. Lucy had been stripped of her dignity and her innocence had been defiled. She was sprawled out on a bed, caked in blood and covered with cuts and bruises…utterly naked. The girl was half dead already and oblivious to everything the demon called Peter was doing to her.

"You look a little…_tuckered out_, Lucy, dearest." Peter chortled as he gave her a little incision with a knife on her left ankle. No reaction came from Lucy. "Lucy…are you ignoring me?" There was still no response. Peter's eyes flashed and he put his hand on the right side of her chest. "You're still alive, my dear…I can hear your heart beating. You can't deceive me." Lucy didn't move. "Oh! So you want to play the hard way, eh?" Peter put the edge of the knife on her calf and slowly moved it upwards so it barely brushed against her flesh. Lucy didn't even flinch. Peter growled and slapped her hard,

"We've had good times, my dear…but you're becoming rather dull," Peter yanked at her hair and she whimpered very quietly. "You're no fun anymore since I've _used _you."

"Please…" Lucy sputtered. "Let...me go. You've had your…fun. Please…"

"Let my dearest Lucy go?" Peter pinched her cheek and threw the knife aside. It clattered to the floor. "Preposterous! I would never even _dream_ of such a thing,"

Lucy stared up into his pitiless, cruel eyes. Tears started streaking down her bloodied face. "I'm so scared. Please don't kill me. I'm all alone…"

"Then no one will miss you," Peter smiled wickedly. "You're worthless, my dear. The only thing you had that had any value was your virginity…and since I've taken that…you have nothing…"

"Shut up!" Lucy cried. "I'm not worthless! I'm not…"

"A Succubini never takes a girl that has a significant purpose in life. We think bodies and souls like yours are far more _delicious_." He put his white, gleaming teeth precariously close to her earlobe. Lucy clutched her ear with her hand. Peter's eyes were ablaze as he pulled yanked her arm down by the chain that was tied to her wrist. The girl cried out in pain.

"You've been trying my patience," Peter snarled as he clutched her throat in his hands.

"Just end it now!" Lucy sobbed feebly. "Go ahead and kill me!"

"You've changed your mind so quickly?" Peter said with a horrible fabrication of tenderness in his tone. He reached for another one of his rusty knives that sat on the nightstand and began placing it in uncomfortable places on Lucy's body. Lucy started screaming pitiably. "What? You don't want to play this game again?"

"Just slaughter me already!" Lucy croaked. "I don't care anymore,"

"You lie," Peter hissed as he plunged the knife into her left thigh. Lucy began bawling and screeching hysterically. The pain was beyond excruciating and thick, red blood began spurting out of the wound when Peter yanked it out. "Darn…I didn't get an artery,"

"Let me die! Let me die!" Lucy wailed as she began tossing and turning on the mattress.

"Hush, my dear," Peter held up his hand and his eyes had turned a demonic black color as they darted around the room. Once he had stopped, a foul grin spread across his lips. "I believe I have a _guest_."

Lucy shuddered as he said the word "guest". She had a nasty feeling that this "guest" was not a friend of Peter's.

"Will you excuse me for a moment, Lucy dearest?" Peter stood up from the bed. "It would be rude to ignore him. I must be as…_hospitable_ as I can possibly be," Peter cackled vilely and strolled out of the room.

Lucy began crying softly in her pathetic state. Was it really ending this way? Would she die alone and her body stay on earth…marred beyond recognition?

A door creaked open. Peter was back. Lucy immediately went silent.

But instead of hearing the nightmarish, sickening voice of Peter, she heard a soft male voice gasp,

"_No_…"

"Who…who's…t-there?" Lucy's throat was dry and her voice was weak.

A sigh of relief was heard. "Lucy Love? You're still alive?"

"Barely," Lucy replied. She looked up to see a man in his early or mid-twenties with longish, dark hair and a dark purple, loose-fitting blazer.

"I need to get you out of here. Can you move?" The stranger's eyes were a very pale green…full of compassion. They looked just like her older brother Leo's eyes.

Just as Lucy was about to respond, something hit her. She felt like an ice cube had slipped down her throat and settled at the bottom of her stomach. "Peter…I know it's you," Lucy's voice was choked.

"What?" The man looked puzzled as he walked towards her.

"Please…stop it!" Lucy began crying uncontrollably. "Stop pretending you're someone here to rescue me! I'm not going to be fooled again! You used my dad, my brother, my sister, my mother, and Claire…it's not going to work this time!"

"What are you saying?" The stranger was at the edge of the bed.

"Stop tormenting me, Peter! Just kill me and get it over with! Please kill me…please! I want to die…I want to die…I want to die…" Lucy flung herself back and forth against the chains so that they rattled violently against the bedposts.

"Dear God," The stranger's voice was coated with pity. "So it calls itself Peter?"

"You're Peter!" Lucy snapped viciously. But she immediately broke down into tears again. "I want to die…I want to die…I want to die…I want to die…"

"Don't talk like that," The stranger ordered her firmly but kindly. "Stay still so I can get these chains off of you."

The man looked around the room until he spotted an axe hanging on the wall beside the seven bodies. He looked away from them and snatched up the axe.

The stranger took the axe towards Lucy. The girl shrank back in fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Lucy," The man promised.

"How do you know my name?" Lucy tested him.

"You've been all over the papers," He replied. He lifted up the axe and began hacking away at her chains. When Lucy was free at last, she looked up at the stranger. It was definitely not Peter.

Lucy flashed him a weak, but grateful smile. The man smiled warmly back at her, but didn't look in her direction. Lucy thought it was rather rude that he wasn't making eye-contact with…

"Oh my God!" Lucy shrieked as she jumped behind the bed. "I'm naked!" Lucy was blushing furiously as she found the short, lacy red dress and slipped it over her head. "I'm so sorry!" She was on the verge to tears. Had Peter almost taken away her sense of modesty?

"It's not your fault," The man then looked her directly in the eye. "I know all about those Succubinis."

Lucy desperately tried to cover herself up with her arms and hands. The dress went to about the middle of her thighs and the amount of cleavage shown was demeaning.

"Here," The man took off his blazer and put it on her. The jacket went down to her knees. Lucy buttoned it up all the way.

"Thank you…that's much better." Lucy paused. "What's your name?"

"Sam…Sam Winchester," Sam held out his hand and Lucy timidly shook it.

"Why are you…?"

Lucy's question was interrupted by the voice of Peter in the distance,

_"You're a Winchester, aren't you, __**Dean**__? I swear you look just like your father…"_

Sam mouthed a curse. "Lucy…go into my right pocket and grab a piece of chalk," Lucy obeyed. "Hurry!"

The girl pulled out the chalk and Sam hastily took it from her. "Is there a ladder in here?"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded as she ran over to a supply closet in the room. She yanked open the door and a large, silver ladder was revealed.

"Bring it here quickly, please!" There was a definite note of urgency in Sam's voice, so Lucy wasted no time in carrying the ladder over to him.

Sam scurried up the ladder and began doing the strangest thing that Lucy had ever seen. He began _drawing_ on the ceiling with chalk.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm making a demon tr…"

_ "IS LUCY DEAD OR ALIVE?!"_

This was a new voice. It was slightly deep with a very slight hint of a southern accent.

"That's my brother…Dean," Sam explained as he continued drawing.

_"Why would I kill my precious Lucy?"_ Peter's sardonic voice echoed through the walls.

_"Where is she then?"_ Dean yelled back at him.

"Done!" Sam announced as he scrambled down the ladder. He rapidly folded it and ran with it across the room…shoving it into the supply closest.

_"Would you like me to bring her out for you?"_

"No!" Lucy squeaked. "Don't let him come back…I want to get out of here…No…No…No…_No…"_

"Lucy! It's going to be alright," Sam led her closer to the front of the bed…right near the door that Peter stood behind.

_"Prove to me that she's alive and I'll leave,"_

"Is your brother crazy?!" Lucy's head was spinning.

"No…he knows what he's doing," Sam replied.

_"Let me go get my pet. She's probably napping now,"_

"No!" Lucy cried as she spontaneously buried her head in Sam's chest. "Don't let him get me! Please, Sam…no…"

"Shh…" Sam enfolded her awkwardly in his arms.

The door swung open with a bang,

"Lucy, dear! There's someone here to see…" Peter paused and he let out an angry growl. "So…there's another Winchester here... I should've known." Peter's voice was so ominous and threatening that Lucy began to shake violently.

"You're sick," Sam spat as he looked upon the Succubini with hatred in his eyes.

"That may be true, _Sammy_…but the fact remains that _you're_ a thief." Peter pointed at the trembling girl in Sam's arms. "She is mine and if you take her away from here…you and your brother will suffer tortures beyond your imagination!"

"Run!" Sam whispered in her ear.

Despite Lucy's fear, she obeyed Sam and began running across the room as fast and expeditiously as her legs could carry her. Sam was sprinting at her side with his hand pressing on her back.

"DON'T YOU DARE RUN!" Peter roared as he sped across the room.

Lucy and Sam reached the front door and hastily tried to open it. The door wouldn't budge.

"It's locked!" Lucy wailed. "How can it be locked?"

"It locks from the inside, my dear," Peter informed her with a triumphant expression on his face.

"It can't be true! It can't be! Please, _God_…don't let it be true!" Lucy was screaming like a madwoman. And who could blame her, really?

"It's true, Lucy. Now, Sam…hand her over." Instead of blue or black, Peter's eyes were burning red as he walked towards them.

Lucy latched onto Sam…a man she hardly knew, and rested her quivering cheek onto his broad shoulder.

Peter was about a foot away from them. Lucy slammed her eyes shut. After a moment, she heard Peter start cursing and grunting.

"A trap!" Peter screeched. Lucy's eyes flipped open to see Peter struggling beneath the strange symbol that Sam had drawn on the ceiling.

"How…?"

"No time," Sam was beaming. "Reach into the left pocket,"

Lucy obeyed him once again and felt a small, folded piece of paper. She pulled it out and unfolded it. A strange, foreign poem of some sort was written on the paper with a blue ink pen.

"Lucy! Let me go! Don't you love me?!" Peter hissed.

"Don't look him in the eye, Lucy!" Sam warned. "Now…read out that spell,"

Lucy took a deep breath and complied,

"Deus servo mihi. Tutela meus viscus ex vulnero…"

Peter began screaming bloody murder, but Lucy yelled the spell over him,

"TUTELA MEUS ANIMUS EX MALUM! CONTEGO MIHI EX HOSTIUM!"

Peter opened up his mouth and a sinister, swirling cloud emerged. The cloud burst a hole through the ceiling and disappeared. "Peter's" body crumpled to the floor.

"Is he dead?" Lucy asked in a whisper.

Sam bent down and lifted up the man's wrist. He checked the pulse and let out a sigh. Sam gradually stood up and nodded.

"He's dead,"

"Good," Lucy crossed her arms and bent her head.

"No," Sam's tone was solemn. "This man was possessed by a Succubini demon." Sam heaved another sigh. "He's innocent."

Lucy froze in place and began to whimper softly. "So…th-this…_demon_…is st-still…alive…and out there somewhere?"

"Sam!"

Another, slightly older looking man walked in. He was attractive with short, sandy hair and he wore a jean jacket. When he rushed up closer, Lucy noticed that his eyes were similar to Sam's…just a shade darker.

"Holy shit," The man's eyes were wide as he looked at her. "What the hell did it do?"

"Dean!" Sam glared at the man…his brother, Lucy assumed.

"I hate demons," Dean grumbled.

"Don't we all?" Sam rolled his eyes. Then his expression became serious. "What are we going to do about Lucy?"


	4. Ramen Needles

"Sam looked at Dean, wishing that he'd stop gaping at the girl. I mean…Dean wasn't drooling over Lucy…he was just gawking at her bleeding, open wounds, her body coated with dry and fresh blood, her puffy, red eyes, her matted hair, and the fact that she was wearing Sam's jacket.

"Well…er…" Dean chewed at his lower lip. "Good lord…"

"I look awful…don't I?" Lucy tried to smile, but it seemed as if there was a heavy weight on her lips that forced them to curve down into a grimace.

"Well…not _that_ way," Dean smiled. "We've seen how you normally look…not bad at all…"

"He means "awful" in another sense of the word," Sam felt the need to cut his older brother off. "We mean…that you probably need some medical attention."

Dean raised his eyebrows and looked at the white shirt Sam was wearing. There were red handprints and bloodstains all over it.

"Did I miss out on some _action_?" Dean smirked.

Sam scowled at Dean and slowly turned to Lucy. "This is my brother…Dean Winchester."

"I figured," Lucy nodded. Her deep brown eyes appeared glassy.

"So…this poor guy didn't make it?" Dean gestured towards the mangled heap on the floor that was once "Peter".

Sam shook his head. "Succubinis apparently don't spare their guests or their hosts." A creaking sound emitted from the ceiling and Lucy began whimpering. Immediately she latched onto Sam and hid her head in his chest.

"Don't let him find me! Make Peter go away! Not again! Not again…" Lucy was clutching the fabric of Sam's shirt in her fingers.

"Calm down," Sam whispered soothingly. He looked up at Dean and mouthed,

"What are we supposed to do?"

"Lucy," Dean cleared his throat. "How about we take you to our motel room and you can take a shower? Then…" Dean gave Sam a slightly apologetic look. "_We'll_ fix you up."

Sam's jaw almost dropped to the floor."Dean…we can't take care of her. She needs professional h…"

"Sam. You really want her to be prattling on and on about demons to the doctors?" Dean looked at the frightened, clingy girl. "And don't think that she'll keep it to herself in the state she's in."

The younger Winchester opened his mouth to speak, but only air emerged from it. Sam was at a loss for words. He naturally felt bad for Lucy, but he felt incredibly uncomfortable having her adhere to him in that manner. He wasn't used to girls behaving this way around him…like he was their protector. Jessica would've…but…

"Lucy…don't worry…there's nothing out there." Dean assured her, breaking Sam's train of thought. "Sam…do you honestly want to just leave her here?"

"No! No! Anything but that!" Lucy wailed."Please…_no_! Don't leave me here! Take me home! Please take me home!"

Lucy squeezed Sam tighter and began shaking violently. Sam patted her head lightly. "We can't take you home. You have no place to go to."

"What?" Lucy was still shaking. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…"

"Sammy, let me deal with this." Dean cut him off as he walked over and peeled Lucy off of Sam's body. Lucy dropped her arms and they swung around loosely at her sides. Dean took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "It's gonna' be alright,"

Sam looked nonplussed. "Dean…what the…"

"Shut up," Dean hissed. His expression softened when he turned to face Lucy. "Sam and I are going to take you with us. We won't hurt you." Lucy flung herself onto Dean and he wrapped her up in his arms.

"Thank you," Lucy whispered.

Sam was stunned by Dean's behavior. Since when was he the expert at comforting people?

"Come on," Dean patted her on the shoulder. "Let's go out to the car. You can lie down in the backseat."

"What about blood getting on your upholst…"

"Sam!" Dean snapped. "It's my Impala…and I'd be _honored _to have the beautiful Ms. Love in it."

Sam grumbled and the three walked out of the horrid shack…leaving eight dead bodies behind.

"What's up with Dean?" Sam wondered to himself as Dean opened the door and set Lucy down on the long, leather car seat

"Come on, Sammy," Dean pressed down on the car horn. "We don't have all night!"

"I'm coming I'm coming," Sam opened the car door and plopped down into the seat. He pulled down his seatbelt and it stuck it in the buckle. The familiar click was heard.

"Let' split," Dean slammed on the accelerator and sped off.

……………

Sam and Dean sat on the larger sofa in the middle of the motel living room. The couch was not much more comfortable than the lumpy loveseat in the corner of the room. But it suited the both of them alright if they position themselves away from the lethal springs sticking out.

The television was blaring, but Sam could still hear the sound of Dean munching Doritos from a "family sized" bag. Apparently "family size" meant "appetizer" to Dean.

"When are we checking out?" Sam had to raise his voice considerably over the noise.

"Tomorrow," Dean mumbled in response and resumed to crunching his precious, cheesy tortilla chips.

"Close your mouth when you eat, Dean," Sam criticized his older brother.

The crunching stopped and Dean slowly turned to Sam. After looking seriously at his brother for a few seconds, Dean opened his mouth and showed the chewed-up mess that sat on top of his tongue. After he got a satisfyingly disgusted look from Sam, he closed his mouth and swallowed.

"Are you my governess or something?" Dean grabbed the remote and turned down the volume of the T.V. "Now…ask what you wanna' ask, Sammy. You've been pondering something all through "Girls Gone Wild". "

Sam scowled and took a breath. "Okay…what's up with you?"

Dean shut off the television and the grainy image was engulfed in black. "What'd you mean?"

"I mean," Sam pushed back his hair. "What's with you and Lucy? I mean…you're being sensitive, helpful, and selfless. Where'd the real Dean go?" Sam laughed uneasily.

Dean's cheeks reddened and his green eyes flashed with fury. He looked as if he were desperately trying to contain his anger. His voice came out controlled and even,

"Well…I've been trying my best to be selfless and helpful all my life. Maybe sacrificing myself for you to live wasn't enough."

"Dean, that was one of the most _selfish_ stunts I believe you've _ever _pulled." Sam's voice was coated with venom. "Think about…"

"So looking out for you when you were little isn't enough for you?!" Something scorching hot flared up inside Dean. "No…Sam…I'm _still_ looking out for you! _You_ are the fucking world to me, Sammy! When Mom died and Dad was hardly ever home…I would take care of you. When you had questions…I'd try to answer them. When you were bored…I'd try to entertain you. When you were sick…I'd try to make you well again. When you felt sad…I'd try to comfort you. When you were scared…I'd try to assure you. When you died…" Dean turned his head away, blinking furiously. "I've been trying all my life, Sammy. Since I couldn't save Dad, and since I couldn't save Mom…I saved you. And now…"

"You're going to save Lucy," Sam finished for him. "Dean…I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Sammy," Both boys went into a lapse of silence. "Did you notice…how much Lucy looks like Mom?"

"I never thought about it." Sam replied. "There's only that one picture of her…"

"She looks almost exactly like a younger version of Mom," Dean's eyes shimmered in the corners. "With brown eyes," Dean gripped Sam's shoulder and Sam gave his older brother a small smile.

"Umm…does anyone have a bathrobe?" Lucy's voice echoed from the bathroom. "Pajamas? Some kind of clothing?"

A grin spread across Dean's face. "Yeah! Let me get you some clothes!"

"Thanks!" Lucy shouted back.

Dean got up from the couch and he looked as if he were about to explode from containing his laughter.

"Dean…" Sam started.

"What about these?" Dean held up a pair of dark blue boxers with the Budweiser logo on the back.

"Dean!" Sam groaned and massaged his forehead. Then, he lifted up his head and said with his voice clearly coated with curiosity,

"Where did you get those?"

Both boys paused, and then burst out laughing as if their laughter would release the heavy load of tension that was weighting down their hearts.

"Julia," Dean replied before he recommenced to his fit of laughter.

"Who's Julia?" Sam had stopped laughing, but he still had a wide Cheshire cat smile slapped on his face.

"Some chick I met in Amsterdam." A grunt of disapproval was heard from Sam as Dean said this. "She was actually kind of…"

"I don't mean to rush you…" Lucy's tone was meek and uncertain.

"Sorry! Just trying to find something…suitable," Dean hollered back as Sam snorted with laughter. Dean went rifled through his suitcase and pulled out a black shirt with orange writing on it that read,

_"I survived the Haunted House at the Arkansas State Fair"_

He also yanked a pair of grey sweatpants from the bottom of the chaotic pile of clothing that Dean somehow always managed to stuff in his suitcase.

"You think she's going to fit in that?" Sam looked at the ensemble of clothing Dean had chosen with apparent skepticism.

"You callin' me fat?" Dean chuckled as he walked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it with a rhythm that sounded suspiciously like "We are the champions" by Queen.

Lucy opened the door and shyly held out her hand to obtain the clothes that Dean had draped over his arm.

"Thanks," Lucy almost whispered as she slowly closed the door. Dean leaned on the wall beside the door and counted to three.

"Um…Dean?"

"Yes, Lucy?"

"Er…you wouldn't happen to have any…undergarments, would you?"

Sam had crept in and was observing the action.

"Yeah," Dean replied with a smirk on his face. "We've got lots of boxers,"

There was a silence at the other end of the door.

"Would you like me to get you some?" Dean was red in the face from trying not to laugh.

"Um…I mean…like…for girls," Lucy's pitch was rather high.

"Oh…bras…Sam might have one of those…" Sam gave Dean a piercing glare. "Hmm…I checked with him…doesn't seem to have one now."

There was another silence.

"Well…you can always resort to a fun option," Dean said casually.

"What?"

"Going commando!"

"You're not serious," Lucy was appalled.

"Hey…I've had girls do it with my clothes _all_ the…"

"TMI, Dean," Sam warned.

"Um…yeah," Dean coughed. "We'll go somewhere tomorrow and get you stuff."

"Thanks, Dean," Lucy said.

"No prob!" Dean winked (for reasons I don't know since Lucy was on the other side of the door), walked back over to his Doritos, and plopped down on the couch.

"_Munch, Munch, Munch…"_

Sam remained standing and wondered how Lucy would make do with Dean's clothing.

The door creaked open and Lucy stepped out. Her hair was wet and stringy, but her body was no longer covered in blood, so her face looked pretty decent.

"Dean's right," Sam said to himself. "She does look kind of like Mom,"

But once Sam studied her clothes, he let out an unintentional snort of laughter. Dean's t-shirt almost went down to her knees and the grey sweatpants were excessively baggy and long since Dean was considerably bigger than her. He was much broader and much taller. Though Lucy could do nothing about the bagginess, Lucy had tried to roll up the bottom of the pants so that they only reached her ankles. The sight was quite comedic.

"I had to pull the drawstrings so tight that they're stretching," Lucy admitted.

"Looks nice!" Dean remarked as he cut off the T.V again. "Now…we need to get something down you. I'll make Ramen Noodles…"

"Ramen Noodles?" Sam raised his eyebrows.

"It's filling," Dean shrugged.

"You've got a point there," Sam reluctantly agreed.

"And…" Dean poked his head in the mini-fridge. "Um…you wanna' beer?"

"Dean!"

"We've also got a bottle of Dr. Pepper." Dean sighed.

"I'll go with that," Lucy smiled weakly.

"Okay," Dean clapped his hands together. "I'll make the gourmet cuisine and you patch her up."

"What?!"

"Patch her up. You put little Sesame Street Band-Aids on her "ouchies" and you give her a lollipop and a sticker once you're done…if she's good," Dean flashed her a grin. "Now…since this motel sucks…I have to go all the way down the fucking stairs to use the microwave. I'll be back." And with that, Dean made his way out of the room with the cup of dry noodles.

"Um…here's your Dr. Pepper," Sam walked over to the mini-fridge and grabbed the bottle by the neck. He screwed open the bottle and a hissing sound ensued. Sam came back over to Lucy, who had settled herself on the couch, and handed her the drink.

"Thanks," Lucy put the bottle to her lips and began thirstily drinking.

"So…where do I start?" Sam went to Dean's bed (the one closest to the window) and pulled out a large, dark purple first-aid kit from underneath it. Sam came back to the living room and knelt down on the floor in front of her.

"Um…" Lucy was blushing. "I have a rather nasty one…er…on my upper thigh."

Sam gulped and turned red with embarrassment. "Let me take a look,"

"Okay," Lucy said softly. She rolled up the grey sweatpants, revealing several cuts. When she had rolled them up all the way, a hideous gash appeared.

"What happened here?" Sam asked, alarmed.

Lucy gave him a wan look. "That's where Peter jammed a knife into me."

"Good God…" Sam looked distressed. He studied it intently…fighting the urge to vomit. "Well…luckily…he didn't hit an artery…and there doesn't appear to be any bone damage."

"Okay…" Lucy nodded slowly.

"But…" Sam knitted his brow. "It'll need stitches,"

Lucy gulped and began shaking. "Y-you're g-g-going to use a…n-n-needle?"

"Yeah," Sam looked up at her with a concerned look. "You're scared of needles?"

"Uh-huh," Lucy nodded slowly.

"It's okay," Sam smiled at her warmly. "Needles freak me out too."

"Really?"

"Yep," Sam sighed. "But…you know I need to sew this up. A wound this deep could kill you if it gets infected."

Lucy was furiously blinking back tears. "Okay…" Her voice was choked.

Sam pulled out a long, white tube. "This is going to numb it. So it'll hardly hurt."

"H-hardly?"

"Don't worry. I'll find a way to distract you so you won't even notice." Sam put some of the numbing medicine on a tongue depressor and applied the clear, gel-like substance on Lucy's rather ghastly injury.

"How long will I keep the medicine on?" Lucy asked.

"Probably about five minutes," Sam replied. "This stuff works pretty fast." Sam decided to leave out the fact that the medicine also wore off fairly quickly afterwards.

"Okay," Lucy's voice was almost inaudible and she was stiff with fear.

"Well…while we wait for that…why don't I get some bandages on some of your more minor cuts?" Sam whipped out a box of Band-Aids. He grinned. "We're fresh out of the Sesame Street ones."

"I'll live," Lucy giggled, despite the dread she felt.

"Any other scratches I need to fix?" Sam prepared a bandage.

Lucy pulled up Dean's shirt and showed Sam several shallow cuts on her stomach. "I also have one on my left ankle, some on my legs, two on my back, one on my right shoulder, and one on my right hip."

"I hate demons," Sam mumbled. "I really do,"

"They're just misunderstood," Lucy gazed at him unsmilingly. "If they all got together and talked about their feelings on Oprah…" Lucy started cracking up. Soon, both of them were almost rolling on the floor.

"Dean likes Oprah," Sam brought up, once they had gathered themselves. "But he's too _manly_ to admit it."

"Have you ever seen him watch it?" Lucy asked.

Sam smirked. "I can't respond that question. If I answer it honestly, Dean said that he'd smash me to a pulp."

"You better not risk it," Lucy advised.

"Hey, Lucy? I think it's time to take that numbing medicine off." Sam said. Lucy involuntarily whimpered. "It'll be alright."Sam pulled out a long, silver knitting needle and cleaned it off with a liquid disinfectant that he had placed on a cotton ball. Sam shuddered as he held the needle between his forefinger and thumb. "Okay. I'm going to…"

"It's Ramen time!"

Dean had barged in with a steaming foam cup of Ramen Noodles.

"And…I even found some chopsticks!" Dean held up a pair of wooden chopsticks. He stopped. "Sam…what the hell are you doing?" He walked over to the couch and examined Lucy's wound. "Eww…"

"I'm about to give her stitches," Sam held his chin up.

Dean snorted. "That's a laugh." He snatched the needle from Sam's hand. "I'll do it."

Lucy began making a sound similar to that of a puppy whining. Sam got up and sat down beside her on the couch.

"You don't like needles?" Dean started a gentler approach. "It'll be okay, Lucy. I've done this plenty of times. I'll be done before you know it." He beamed at her encouragingly as the discreetly threaded the needle with flesh-colored string.

"I'm so scared…" Lucy's voice quavered. "I've n-never had…st-stitches…before."

Sam slipped his hand into hers. Their fingers interlaced. "You can squeeze on my hand as hard as you want if you get scared."

"I might break your bones," Lucy chuckled nervously.

"You can crush them to dust if you want." Sam gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Is that physically possible?" Lucy inquired.

"Well…maybe if you took my bones out, dried them off, and used a cheese grater…"

"Cheese grater?" Lucy giggled.

"I mean like a…" Sam's cheeks colored while he tried to cover up his error. "Umm…a blender…or a paper-shredder…" Sam gave up. "I dunno…something that can grind things up…"

"A pepper grinder?" Lucy suggested.

"That might work…"

"Well…this conversation has been random," Lucy commented. "Enjoyable…but random."

"I guess I…"

"Done!"

"Threading the needle?" Lucy gulped.

"Nope!" Dean glowed with pride. "I just stitched you up."

"You did what?!" Lucy and Sam said together at the same time. It was quite unintentional.

"While you two were chatting away…I stitched Lucy up," Dean had a smile that closely resembled one of those cardboard clowns at a carnival. You know…the ones where you try to knock all of their teeth out with a ball?

"I didn't feel anything…" Lucy protested.

"Because you were distracted," Dean said slyly. "I guess you find little Sammy a good _diversio__n_."

"Shut up, Dean," Sam grumbled and turned to Lucy. "Lucy…your Ramen Noodles are getting cold."

Lucy picked up the cup and Dean handed her the chopsticks. She handled the chopsticks like a pro and she ate the noodles ravenously. Both boys looked voracious eating with wide eyes. She was finished in about three minutes.

"You sure ya don't need another one of those?" Dean asked.

"I'm fine," Lucy yawned. "Does that sofa fold out into a bed?"

"Nah, I'll take the sofa," Dean patted Lucy on the shoulder.

"Oh…" Lucy started.

"Take my bed," Dean offered.

"Dean…"

"Shut your cakehole, Sammy," Dean rolled his eyes.

"Well…before we go to bed…I need to get bandages on the rest of her cuts." Sam pulled out more bandages and began kindheartedly putting on bandages.

"Are you gonna run out?" Dean teased when Sam had put on about twenty band-aids.

"Nope," Sam replied as he stuck a bandage on her back. "That's all I see. Any others I should know about?"

Lucy turned bright red. "Um…could I borrow some of that Neosporin?"

"Don't worry, Lucy. I'll take care of it." Sam smiled warmly.

"Um…that's okay…I can manage…"

"Sammy," Dean gave him a look and Sam blushed.

"Sorry…"

"No biggie" Lucy took the tube of Neosporin Dean offered her.

"Okay…bedtime," Dean announced. "You want a bedtime story?"


	5. Screams in the night

Sam was walking through a wheat field that was ablaze. The flames licked his flesh, but he didn't feel its sting…he wasn't burnt. How could the fire harm him? Sam _was_ fire.

All of the sudden, Jessica appeared in front of him. Her hair was rippling gracefully in the wind. Sam was overjoyed to see her, so he ran up to kiss her.

The moment his lips touched hers, she began screaming in agony and her entire body caught fire. Her features began melting before him while Sam knelt on the fiery ground and wept. Though Jessica had disappeared, he could still hear her screaming.

"Well done, Sam," A taunting voice came from behind him. He whipped around to see that it was the blonde, demon girl that had been following him around.

"What did you do to Jessica?" Sam growled.

"Who cares about Jessica?" The demon girl sniggered. "You're the king now," The demon girl kept laughing cruelly as she placed a burning crown of thorns on the top of his head. "The king of hell…"

The sound demon girl's shrill laughter and Jessica's scream was too much for Sam to bear. He began crying out in agony,

"Stop!"

"Not now, _Sammy_," The demon girl pushed him to the ground. The thorns from Sam's crown plunged themselves deep into his flesh. The pain was surreal. "I'm just going to give you a little advice…concerning your brother."

Sam froze. "What?"

"That Lucinda girl? Keep her with you and your brother. She's the key to saving Dean."

"What do you mean?" Sam questioned desperately. But the demon girl only laughed and vanished before his eyes. The laughter stopped, but the screams persisted.

Sam bolted out of his bed, breathing heavily. He could still hear the screams pounding in his ears. When he finally regained his senses, he realized that the screams were not a figment of his imagination. They were coming from the other side of the room where Lucy was sleeping. He saw that she was tossing and turning violently in the bed and she was letting out bloodcurdling screams.

Just as Sam started to spring out of bed, someone had flipped the lights on. The light emitting from the overhead lamp was so bright that Sam had to squint.

Dean was standing at the door with a pair of navy sweatpants on. His chest remained bare and his hair was tousled. Sam knew that Dean always had bed-head hair when he woke up.

"Lucy, Lucy…calm down," Dean said softly as he rushed over to the bed and sat down beside Lucy.

"Please! Leave me alone!" Lucy wailed. Tears were streaming from her tightly closed eyes.

"It's Dean, Lucy," Dean affectionately touched her shoulder, but Lucy shoved his arm away. Her eyelids flipped up, revealing her dark brown eyes that were filled with terror.

"Peter…no…please…no! Anything! Don't do it again! Don't do it again!" Lucy shrieked.

Dean persisted and began rubbing her back,

"Dean can't help but wonder why,

Little Lucy has to cry,"

Sam looked at Dean incredulously.

"What?" Dean gave his brother a grin. "You don't remember when I'd do that for you?"

Sam tried to go back in his memory. His mind was blank.

"When you were about four…you always had nightmares, and you'd spend all night screaming and crying. The only way I could talk sense into you was to use rhyming words." Dean looked at the trembling, but quiet, Lucy. "I guess it works for her too,"

"Wait…" Sam had deep lines etched on his forehead. "I think I remember…when I had a dream that our house was on fire and I was trapped under a pile of burning wood."

"You gonna be alright, Lucy?" Dean stroked her hair and she leaned her head up against his bare chest.

"Yeah…I'm so sorry," Lucy laughed uneasily.

"No, no…it's not a big deal," Dean chortled. "Of course you're going to have nightmares. After what you've been through…"He trailed off.

"It…was so…s-scary…" Lucy stammered. "And…so…so…convincing and…r-real. I…th-th-thought…I was…_there_…again." A tear slid down Lucy's cheek and Dean brushed it away.

"You want me to getcha something?" Dean offered. "Water? Tea? Hot Chocolate? Soda? _Vodka_?"

"Dean!" Sam groaned.

"Hey! Alcohol makes you sleepy," Dean defended his beverage of choice. Sam rolled his eyes at him. "Pardon my breathing!"

"I don't need anything," Lucy whispered shyly.

"You sure?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Lucy smiled feebly. "But…could you…stay with me a little longer?"

Dean beamed at her. "Of course I can,"

Sam felt as if the fluids in the pit of his stomach were bubbling with a feeling he couldn't define. "Hey! Why don't I get a hug? I had a nightmare too." Sam plopped down beside Dean. Why did he feel the need to invade Dean and Lucy's personal space?

"We all have nightmares now," Dean chuckled grimly. He was still talking to Lucy. "I'm just kind of used to it. Nightmares when I'm sleeping…nightmares when I'm awake. I guess it happens when you hunt demons."

"Still…hers are probably worse than ours," Sam pointed out. "She's probably experiencing physical pain in her dreams."

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "I can almost…still feel it…especially on my upper thigh."

Both boys shot each other uneasy looks. Sam hadn't told her that the numbing medicine wore off quickly.

"It's probably those stitches," Dean finally said. "The numbing junk wears off pretty fast."

"Oh," Lucy let out an embarrassed giggle. "I was being silly…thinking I could feel pain from my dream. In reality I was probably feeling the soreness from my wounds in real life."

"It's not silly," Sam remarked as he rubbed the area on his head where the burning crown of thorns was placed…in his dreams, of course.

There was a loud hammering sound coming from outside. Lucy yelped and snuggled up against Dean's chest. Sam felt a twinge of jealousy. Was he envious of Lucy? Or was he envious of Dean?

"Hey, hey," Dean chuckled as he caressed her shoulders. Sam's jealous feelings persisted. "Calm down. It was probably just two dogs gettin' a little too horny when they banged."

"Dean! Do you want her to have more nightmares?" Sam looked harassed. "Is sex always the only thing on your mind?"

"Excuse me, Captain Know-it-All…if it weren't for nookie you wouldn't be here right now." Dean was grinning from ear to ear as he started using a sickening high-pitched tone,

"Now little Sammy. When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much…"

"I hate you," Sam mumbled.

"I know," Dean whacked him on the back.

"Jerk,"

"Bitch,"

"Birds in their little nests agree!" Lucy chimed in with a singsong voice.

"Dude…I am _not_ going to share a _nest_ with_ you_!" Dean teased. He looked towards Lucy who had removed herself from his embrace. "Sam snores,"

"I do not!" Sam protested.

"I'm serious! He does! I tape-recorded him once…"

"Liar," Sam rolled his eyes. "I'll bet _you're_ the one who snores!"

"Listen, dude. If I snored…I would know. Someone would've noticed. I've had so many chicks in…"

"Okay…off the bed, Dean!" Lucy giggled. "I'm now officially uncomfortable, thank you!"

"I'll get off! I'll get off!" Dean laughed. "Keep your shirt on…"

"And hold onto it tightly," Sam added. "There is no guarantee that your shirt will stay on you when Dean is on your bed."

Dean was bewildered. "Sammy…I didn't know you could talk like that…"

"I went to college, didn't I?" Sam chuckled. Lucy yawned. "You tired?"

"A little," Lucy replied. Then, she began blushing. "Um…thanks you two…for helping me out so much. I mean…I haven't really thanked you properly yet. I mean…you both saved me from that Peter bastard…and you brought me here, let me take a shower, fixed up my injuries, got me something to eat, and now you're coming to comfort me in the middle of the night when I had a bad dream. You both have really made me feel better about this whole situation…I mean…" Lucy shrugged. "I've never been through anything like that before."

"Not many people have," Sam looked at her kindly.

"And besides," Dean added in. "What could we have done with you, anyways? I mean…as much as I wanted to throw you out on the side of the road…I knew I couldn't…too much paperwork." Dean winked to show he was joking.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Sam inquired.

"Yeah…thanks so much,"

"Alrighty then," Dean patted her on the back and stood up. Sam took that as his cue to get up as well. "We'll see ya in the mornin'! Nighty-Night!"

"Good night," Sam said softly.

"Good night," Lucy replied in a whisper.

When Dean was almost out of the room, he flicked off the lights and everything was black.


	6. Coffee in the morning

Lucy's eyelids swung open, showing her dark eyes the sheer beauty of sunlight streaming through the window. As she peered through the glass across from the bed where she rested tranquilly, she saw that the sky was a brilliant, breathtaking azure color that lifted her spirits tremendously.

Lucy normally would've leapt out of bed on a day like this, but she looked over to see Sam sleeping soundly on his side. It was a cherubic sight since his face was so peaceful; his dark mop of hair was slightly tangled and several strands of it had fallen over his face. The locks of hair glowed like burning coals when the sunlight of the glorious morning reflected off of them. Lucy couldn't disturb him, so she carefully crept out of bed and walked out of the bedroom.

When she got to the living room, she saw Dean sprawled out on the sofa, still not wearing a shirt. He, unlike Sam, slept on his back and his mouth was hanging open slightly.

"No…no…I don't like those pants," Dean mumbled in his sleep. "They're ugly,"

Lucy stifled laughter as she tiptoed into the adjoining kitchen. She stood by the counter and smiled contentedly. It was time for her morning routine…making a pot of coffee.

Now…everyone who ate at Melton's in Pocatello said she could make the best damn coffee in Idaho…and Lucy agreed wholeheartedly…and she wasn't ashamed to admit it.

She grinned again when she saw the "Mr. Coffee" coffeemaker with sandy-brown coffee filters right beside it.

"Now…to find the coffee," She said to herself as she began quietly searching the countertops and drawers.

"Yes!" She whispered happily when she found several packets of coffee with the motel name printed on the front. She opened one of the packets and smelled the contents. Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Sweet Jesus…this coffee is poor quality…I'll probably need about five packets of it!" Lucy shrugged her shoulders and got to work…making do with the supplies she had.

…

Dean woke up with a crick in his neck. He hated it when he got those. But, he knew there was one quick and easy cure…

_"Cr-r-r-r-r-r-r-rack!"_

"Ah!" Dean rubbed his neck. "Much better," He stretched out his arms and more popping sounds emitted from his bones.

"Mornin'!" Someone chirped.

Dean jumped from surprise and fell off the couch with a thud.

"Did I scare you?"

Dean scrambled up off of the floor once he realized it was Lucy in the kitchen. Dean's senses weren't always the sharpest in the morning.

"Nah," He replied as he massaged his hip that had hit the floor. "I'm fine. How're you doing?"

"Never better!" Lucy responded cheerfully. "You want some coffee?"

"I dunno," Dean said as he staggered into the kitchen. The tiles felt chilly against his bare feet. "Sam and I have been tryin' to make some decent coffee all week from that coffee pot." He pointed at the white Mr. Coffee machine. "I mean…usually our coffee ain't great…"

"_Isn't_," Lucy corrected him.

_"Jesus, she sounds like Sam!" _Dean thought. But in spite of himself, he slapped on a grin and said,

"Usually our coffee _isn't_ great…but I mean…we can swallow it. But the stuff we've been trying to make tastes like liquid shit!"

"Well…it is brown…" Lucy pointed out.

"Oh, come on!" Dean put on a disgusted expression. "How am I supposed to drink it now?"

"Just don't think about it!" Lucy chuckled. "Anyways…do you want me to make it a latte?"

"A latte?" Dean raised his eyebrows. "Don't get all fancy on me, baby! Just two packets of sugar and I'll be good,"

"Alrighty!" Lucy chuckled. "One coffee with two packets of sugar, coming up!"

Dean was taken aback by her jolly demeanor. I mean…hadn't this chick been through hell? But…instead of bringing it up, he decided to change the subject,

"Don't know why Sam's not awake. He usually gets up before me,"

"I think he was having nightmares," Lucy answered. "Do you have a mug?"

"Yeah," Dean got up and opened a cabinet. He handed her his Hooters mug and a cerulean blue cup. "I think Sam'll want some…if he gets up."

"Okee-dokee!" Lucy beamed as she ripped open two sugar packets and shook them into the Hooters mug.

"How'd you know that one was mine?" Dean inquired.

"Hmm…I don't know…lucky guess," Lucy feigned ignorance.

Dean snorted. "Sure, baby doll…sure…" Dean looked up at her. "And why've you put the sugar in _first_?"

"It blends better," Lucy replied as she poured the rich, dark brown coffee into the mug. She pulled out a wooden stir and put it in the coffee. "What's your favorite number?"

Dean was startled by the random question. "Why?"

"You'll see," Lucy winked.

"Umm…" Dean scratched his head. "Eighteen,"

"Okay, gracias!" Lucy began stirring the coffee. Each twirl around the cup was fairly slow, but she was done in less than a minute. "Here you go!" Lucy handed him the mug and Dean sat down on a wobbly, plastic chair at a creaky, plastic table.

"Umm…one question," Dean eyed the drink. "What the hell did you do to my coffee?"

"I stirred it eighteen times," Lucy grinned. "I think when you stir in the sugar as many times as the recipient's favorite number…it'll taste better to them."

"What if your favorite number is one…or 1,293,392,283,909?" Dean tested her.

"Well…then your coffee will never taste as good as it potentially could if you had chosen a better number to be your favorite," Lucy replied.

"Whatever," Dean took a sip. "Damn it! Whatcha put in this?!"

"Is it too rich?" Lucy frowned.

"No…no," Dean took a deep gulp. "This is fuckin' good coffee!"

"Thanks," Lucy blushed.

"I'm serious!" Dean kept drinking, only taking pauses to speak. "I need to hire you or something!"

"Well, honestly…cooking, baking, and making coffee is about all I can do," Lucy confessed. "I have no other _real_ talents," Lucy shook her head, trying to rid the negative thoughts from her mind. "I should just shut up now…"

Dean furrowed his brow, something he hardly did, but something Sam did often. "Hmm…havin' some self-esteem issues?"

"Why isn't Sam up yet?" Lucy said a little louder than she should have.

"You didn't answer…"

"Mornin'," Sam walked into the kitchen and put a hand through his hair. He let out a yawn. "You sleep well, Lucy?" Sam smiled at her.

"Yeah," Lucy replied, her cheeks were turning pink. "You?"

"Alright," He shrugged. "You're in a mighty good mood,"

"Why shouldn't I be?" Lucy turned to the coffee pot. "You want some coffee?"

"You want it, Sam," Dean advised. "It's some good shit!"

"Alright…I'll have some," Sam laughed.

"How do you want it?" Lucy smiled shyly.

"A little cream and sugar," Sam nodded.

"Alright then!" Lucy turned to Sam's cup and fixed up his coffee in her special way. Once she had finished dumping in the cream, she asked him,

"What's your favorite number?"

"Twenty-three," Sam answered quickly.

_"Mother-fucker!__ That's Lucy's age!" _Dean thought.

"Okay," Lucy stirred twenty-three times and handed the coffee to Sam. "Here you go!"

Sam took a swig while standing up. "Jesus! This is awesome coffee!" Sam kept drinking more. "How'd you do it?"

"It's my secret," Lucy replied with a wink.

Dean couldn't take it any longer. "Lucy…what's going on?"

The room went silent and Sam glared at his older brother.

"What do you mean?" Lucy frowned.

"Your mood" Dean sighed. "It's really weird. I mean…yesterday you seemed like your mind was fucked-up beyond repair…and I understand that…what you've been through really sucked ass. But now…about ten hours later…you're Little Miss Sunshine!"

Lucy looked hurt. "I'm sorry, Dean,"

Dean almost smacked himself. The girl had been traumatized and just when she got in a good mood…he screwed it up. "Lucy…I didn't mean it like that…it just…confuses me, that's all," Dean flashed her a sincere smile and she reluctantly smiled back.

"I guess we just misunderstood each other," Lucy nodded and let out a sigh. "Well…to answer your question…I'm not over what happened…and I may never be. I still see the scars that "Peter" left and I can still feel them. There are cuts everywhere…including places you don't want to see," Lucy flushed pink and the boys grimaced. "And even when the scars are gone…I will never forget." Lucy's solemn expression changed into a pleasant one. "But I have a philosophy on life that makes me a happier person,"

"And what is that?" Sam asked, intrigued.

"Each day's a brand new life," Lucy replied simply.

"Huh?" Dean was befuddled.

"Each day's a brand new life," Lucy repeated. Both brothers stared at her blankly. "It means that I treat each day as if it were the start of a new life. It's like I start on a clean slate…and I leave the past in the past."

"It's a good way of seeing things," Sam agreed.

"But…isn't it kinda hard?" Dean chortled.

"Sometimes," Lucy admitted. "Recently it's been getting harder and harder. My mother died of a stroke a few years ago…then my dad killed himself. A year ago…m-my brother L-Leo…died in a car crash," Lucy's eyes became watery. "I'm still not over that. Leo…my big brother…meant the world to me. He always took care of me, loved me, and was always there for me…and when he died…I felt I had nothing left."

"Didn't you have a sister?" Dean cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah…Megan…my younger sister by two years…" Lucy nodded shakily. "I-I…loved her and all…but…we never really got along…she was always pluckier than I and I saw her as kind of a bully…until six months ago she was diagnosed with leukemia and died three months later. Those three months were an interesting one for me…she was so weak while I was so strong. It was all so strange."

Lucy appeared to be just giving the facts and not expressing what she felt. But Sam and Dean understood…they'd been through enough death to know that telling what happens is hard enough. It's really difficult to go into detail.

"Being an orphan sucks," Dean stated bluntly. "Sammy and I don't have parents either,"

"Both killed by bastards…also known as demons," Sam growled.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said.

"Don't worry about it," Dean shrugged.

"That's why you hunt demons?"

"Hey, baby doll…why don't we fill you in on the whole story?" Dean leaned in and Lucy sat down at the table.

"Alright, then…let's hear it!"


	7. A way out

Sam was telling most of their life story to Lucy with little help from Dean because all Dean could think about was the way Sam and Lucy were looking at each other. Sam was eyeing her almost greedily and Lucy was gazing at Dean's little brother with a dizzy expression. I mean, sure he _liked_ Lucy and wanted her to be safe…but when any girl got interested in his brother, Dean _always_ had something to say about it. He never really approved of Jessica and was always strangely jealous of the chicks that his Sammy brought home on his arm.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Lucy held up her hands. "You got _stabbed_?!"

"Yeah," Sam grimaced. "And…I…died…"

"Sammy," Dean cut him off. "We don't need to tell her any more,"

"But…" Lucy brushed back her blonde hair that looked so much like the color of their mother's hair. "Don't you _want_ to tell me more?"

Sam and Dean looked at each other with a grave expression.

"Well," Sam's tongue started poking out of the corner of his mouth. "Dean did something selfish and stupid…"

"You take that back!" Dean growled.

"No," Sam's eyes turned to slits. "I'm standing by what I said,"

"Jesus, Sam! I can't take this from you anymore!" Dean shouted, wanting to shatter Sam's face to bits.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sam snapped. "I'm the one who has to suffer!"

"You son of a…"

"What's going on?"" Lucy stood up. "There's enough goddamn tension between you two to crush the Earth's population! Now tell me what's up!"

It was kind of a "Whoa," moment for Sam and Dean. They'd never seen Lucy be so harsh. She'd always seemed so good natured and soft.

Finally, Sam was the one to speak,

"Do you remember the demon at the crossroads that I was telling you about?" Lucy nodded. "Dean…after I died…went to that demon…"

Lucy let out a gasp. "He didn't!"

Sam gulped. "His life exchanged for my life returned."

Lucy's eyes filled with tears. "So you have ten years to live, Dean?!"

"No," Dean replied casually. "One,"

"ONE?!" Lucy shrieked. "ONE YEAR TO LIVE?!"

"I told you we shouldn't've told her," Dean muttered in Sam's ear.

"Dean?" Lucy said, panting. "Why…would…you…do that?" Dean turned away. "I'm asking you a sincere question…"

"I couldn't live without my baby brother," Dean answered, looking at Sam with sad eyes.

"So…we are going to find a way out of it?" Lucy inquired quietly.

"No,"

"_Yes_,"

Dean had said "no" at the same time Sam had said "yes". It would've been very funny if the circumstances weren't so gloomy.

"I little controversy, huh?" Lucy chuckled dryly.

"No…Sammy just has a death wish," Dean grumbled.

"I shouldn't've given you two coffee. You both were nicer when you were tired." Lucy remarked.

Sam got a strange twinkle in his stunning, green eyes. "Is your real name Lucinda?"

Lucy was taken aback by the randomness of Sam's question, but replied,

"Yes…yes it is,"

Sam ran a hand through his dark mop of hair and made a brief humming noise.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Sammy?" Dean gave him a hard poke on the side of the head.

"Ow!" Sam cried, rubbing the spot that Dean had prodded. "That hurt!"

"Oh, you little softie!" Dean teased.

"My head isn't soft!" Sam retorted. "You just have big, fat, hard fingers."

"Oh! Wonderful comeback, Samantha!" Dean said sarcastically.

"Thanks, Deana," Sam replied wittily.

"Bitch,"

"Jerk,"

"Boneheads!" Lucy smacked the both of them hard on the back of their heads.

"OW!" They both hollered together.

"Now you two have something in common," Lucy put her hands on her hips. "You both have an "ouchie" in the same place."

"Jesus Christ!" Sam rubbed the back of his head.

"That hurt like a bitch," Dean commented while grimacing.

"You guys need me here, don't you?" Lucy said, only half-joking.

"Hmm…maybe…" Dean rubbed his chin. "If you and Sammy stop hittin' on each other."

"What?!" Lucy and Sam exclaimed together.

"You heard me," Dean cracked his knuckles.

"I am _not_ hitting on him!" Lucy defended herself.

Sam lapsed back into his deep thought, only breaking free to say,

"Dean…we should keep her with us?"

Dean did a double take. "Huh?"

"I'm serious," Sam said offhandedly. "We need good coffee, and we need a cleaner environment…I mean, every place we go, we turn it into a dump, and we could always use an extra hand on the researching portion of our hunts."

Lucy's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Dean mulled it over in his head. "Well…"

"Why not, Dean?" Sam was officially back into the real world. "We could pay her back…"

"Don't pay me!" Lucy stopped him. "I just need a place to stay."

"Then…that'll be your payment," Dean clapped his hands together. "But…one condition…I'd rather you not go on hunts with us…it'll be danger…"

"_Deal!"_ Lucy cut him off quickly. "Like I want to be around more demons anytime soon."

Sam smiled with satisfaction and gave Dean a discreet wink. "Okay then…seems like a good trade to me,"

Dean looked over at Sam suspiciously and whispered. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," Sam whispered back. "Just glad that I've found a way out."


	8. The drive

Dean, Sam, and Lucy were all riding in the Impala at about twelve o' clock midnight. Earlier that day, they had managed to pack all their belongings (mostly Lucy helping Sam and Dean), check out of the motel, go to Lucy's old apartment, pick up some clothes and toiletries there, and to hop back in the car just in time to have a hearty, healthy meal at Burger King.

Lucy was stretched out in the back seat. Her eyes were shut tightly and her breathing was slow and steady. The Winchesters knew that she was fast asleep.

Dean, on the other hand, had his fingers tightly clenched around the steering wheel and his eyes were focused directly on the road…a rather rare thing for Dean to do.

Sam was sitting in the passenger seat, looking out the window at the occasional flash of light that would appear when a car whizzed by with its headlights on. Sam was enveloped in thought, his mind far off in another world…or so it would appear.

"Sammy? Whatcha' thinkin' about?" Dean whispered, breaking the silence as he crossed the Idaho border into Wyoming.

"Nothing," Sam replied hazily.

Dean fixed his eyes on the cold, black asphalt. "Nothing?"

"Uh-huh," Sam didn't even act as if Dean were there.

Dean, annoyed by Sam's indifference, gave him a thump on the side of the head before he returned his hands to the wheel.

"Dean!" Sam hissed as he lifted up his hand that was balled up in a fist.

"Oh no you don't, Sasquatch!" Dean brushed his little brother's fist to the side. "No botherin' the driver!"

Regardless, Sam gave Dean a good clout to the ear.

"Well aren't we the little pacifist today?" Dean chortled.

"Jerk," Sam mumbled.

"Bitch," Dean said kind of half-heartedly. "So…is _Lucy_ your new love interest?"

"Shut up, Dean," Sam grumbled.

"Ah! You won't deny it," Dean felt a little hurt.

"No," Sam started slowly. "Lucy…is a _very_ nice girl…but it's kind of hard to fall in love again when you're having nightmares with Jessica having her flesh burned off," Sam turned away to look out the car window again. A sniff was heard.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Sammy," Dean nodded. "Is that what's botherin' you?"

"What?" Sam whipped around.

"Come on…don't fake it," Dean looked at the road again. "Something's been bothering you and I just wanna know what's up."

Sam was silent.

"You can tell good ol' Dean anything!" Dean did a horrible impression of a crotchety, old farmer.

"Dean…"

Dean gave his little brother a slap on the back. "Come on…spit it out…"

"You won't like it," Sam bit his lower lip, a very adorable quirk of his.

"Does it involve you being romantically involved with another girl?"

Sam paused. "Not really…"

"Then I'll probably be okay," Dean shrugged. "Now. Tell me what's goin' on or I'll throw you out of this car."

Sam knew he wasn't serious, but relented anyways. "You know that demon chick I was talking about?"

"Oh no…not her again!" Dean groaned.

"What?" Sam furrowed his brow angrily. "You wanted to know!"

"Sorry, little boy," Dean watched Sam out of the corner of his eyes. "Carry on,"

Sam began telling Dean about what happened in his dream. Dean responded with nods and occasional grunts, his eyes were still facing straight ahead.

"…and then…that demon chick said…" Sam gulped, afraid of his brother's reaction. "…that she knew the way to save you…"

"So now this bastard is gettin' inside your head? Literally…"

"I don't know," Sam moaned with exasperation and ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe I'm just going crazy…"

_"I know __**I**__ am," _Dean thought as tried to tear his wandering eyes away from his brother. "You're not goin' crazy, Sammy…just a little cuckoo…that's all," Dean watched Sam's scowl lovingly out of the corner of his eye.

"Dean! Watch out!" Sam shouted.

Just in time, Dean swerved around a giant dairy truck that was in front of him.

"Goddamn dairy truck!" Dean grumbled. "What's a fuckin' milk truck doing driving around at this hour?"

"I don't know!" Sam hissed. "But regardless, you need to keep your eyes on the road!"

Instead of being irritated by his little brother bossing him around, Dean saw Sam's behavior as more of a cute quirk and his concentration on his driving wavered even more.

"Yellow mustang at 12 o' clock!" Sam gave Dean a nudge. Dean ignored him and pressed his foot harder on the accelerator. "Dean!"

"What, Samantha?" Dean snapped.

"Stoplight,"

Dean cursed and slammed on the brakes.

"Dean...I'm serious," Sam pointed his finger at him. "If you act this recklessly…" Dean grabbed ahold of Sam's hand and looked straight ahead.

"Light's green," Sam said quietly, not struggling to take his hand away.

Dean kept on driving with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand clutching onto Sam's hand.

"So," Dean still hadn't let go of Sam's hand. "What was the demon chick's plan to save me?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Sam replied. "She just said…stick with that Lucinda girl…"

"That explains why you wanna keep Lucy here, right?" Dean lowered his hand, taking Sam's hand with it.

"Yeah," Sam whispered. "Um…Dean?"

"Yeah?" Dean's voice was uneven and breathy.

"Can we pull over?"

Dean immediately obliged and pulled over on the side of the road.

"That was fast," Sam remarked.

"Anything for my Sammy," Dean said absentmindedly.

"What?" Sam cocked his eyebrow.

"Nothin'," Dean dropped Sam's hand. "Now…I'm all ears. Whatcha wanna talk about?"

"Why'd you drop my hand?" Sam questioned softly.

"You want me to keep holdin' it?" Dean said in an undertone, hoping not to wake Lucy who had surprisingly slept through everything that had happened.

Sam was dead silent for a moment, deep in thought. Dean waited noiselessly in anticipation for Sam's response.

When Dean was about to cover up his foolish question by saying, "Just kiddin' you bro!" Sam finally said,

"Yes,"

Dean was stunned, but awkwardly took his brother's stiff, cold hand in his rather sweaty, shaky one.

"You need to talk about something?" Dean finally asked his brother after several minutes of hush.

"No," Sam lied.

"What is it, Sammy?" Dean confronted him.

"Nothing,"

"Liar," Dean chuckled uneasily. "Tell me,"

"It's not important,"

"Anything you say is important,"

"No it's not," Sam argued.

"Is too,"

"Is not,"

"Is too!"

"Is _not_!" Sam almost yelled.

"Fine," Dean dropped Sam's hand. "Can I get back on the road now?"

"Yeah," Sam replied.

"Okay then," And Dean went back on the dark and dreary road.


	9. Lucy's discovery

"Anything yet?" Lucy asked Sam as she poured him some more coffee.

"Not yet," Sam replied, taking a sip of the coffee and putting it on a plastic stand by the couch. Then, he went back to rifling through the newspaper that was sitting on his lap.

Sam, Dean and Lucy had spent two nights so far in a halfway decent motel in the microscopic town of Soldes, Montana.

Lucy sat down beside Sam on the couch. The couch in this motel was much better than the one in Idaho. The spring stayed at the bottom, supporting the cushions, and cockroach nests weren't clustered in the corners. Though the sofa smelled strongly of mothballs, it was still a great improvement.

"Have you been sleeping?" Lucy questioned him, making note of the dark rings under Sam's eyes and his slightly vacant expression. She put her coffee pot down on the coffee table by their feet. It was a rather…_interesting _coffee table that was crudely carved out of pine.

"Kinda," Sam shrugged.

"It would be better if you could sleep like Dean," Lucy chuckled, looking at the green, plastic watch on her wrist. The digital numbers read "10:30 AM".

"Maybe…" Sam's tongue was poking out slightly from the corner of his mouth as he read an article.

"Is that something?" Lucy peered over at the article.

"Nah," Sam sighed. "They found the guy's DNA all over the gun…see?" Sam pointed a section of the article with a picture of a man's mug shot embedded in it.

"Nothing paranormal?" Lucy said, trying to coat the fear in her voice with false curiosity.

"Not today, it seems," Sam threw the whole entire newspaper on the floor and put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his dark, silky bangs.

"Hey, look on the bright side," Lucy put an arm around Sam's shoulder. "You can relax a little, now…I mean…after Peter…" Lucy had a stretched, fake smile on her face as she thought of Peter. "I mean…you could probably use some rest…sleep, really."

"I can't sleep," Sam blurted out. "I really _can't _sleep."

Lucy was silent for a moment before she spoke,

"I was awake during the drive here."

"What?!" Sam sat up straight, alarmed. Cold dread washed over him. "But…I thought…"

"I heard everything," Lucy smiled gently. "And I saw everything…"

"It's not what you th-"

"I witnessed a rather cute, brotherly moment," Lucy had a broader grin on now…and a mischievous look glimmering in her black-brown eyes.

"What do you mean?" Sam was almost on the verge of trembling. Had she heard everything to do with Ruby, the demon girl and his plot to save Dean?

"Well…I woke up when Dean swerved around that dairy truck…"

Sam heaved out a huge sigh of relief. She _hadn't _heard everything. "Oh…"

"And I decided to stay awake since you two seemed to be arguing about something juicy…and Dean kept almost hitting cars…" Lucy chattered away. "And when you pointed your finger at him and he took the finger and started holding your hand…that was really cute…"

"Er…" Sam bit his lip.

"And then, you two pulled over, and you held hands again, and then…" Lucy had to take a deep breath since she was talking so fast. "There was a cliffhanger…something I've been curious about…"

"What?!" Sam snapped, irritated slightly by Lucy's seemingly mindless chattering.

Lucy pretended not to be bothered by Sam's sour mood. "What did you want to tell him?"

"Huh?" Sam feigned ignorance.

"What did you want to tell Dean?" Lucy's tone was pleading. "I reeeaaaalllllyyyyy want to know!" She stuck out her lower lip excessively and pouted. "Why don't you tell me?"

"It's nothing," Sam evaded her question. "When do you think we should move on? I mean…this town seems pretty demon-free."

"Don't avoid it, Sam," Lucy frowned. "I want to know!"

"No,"

"Please?"

"No,"

"Please?"

"No…"

"_Please?"_

"No!"

"_Please?!"_

_"No!"_

_"Please!"_

_"NO!"_ Sam shouted, cheeks flushing from embarrassment and rage. "I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU, DEAN, OR ANYONE ELSE!" Lucy looked incredibly hurt and looked down,

"Sorry, Sam…I won't pry anymore."

Sam's look softened. "I'm sorry…I should've yelled like that…"

"And I should've pestered you like that," Lucy was hiding tears. She was oversensitive about being yelled at.

"Look…" Sam sighed. "I don't even know what to tell, really. I mean…I think I'm in the dark as much as you and Dean are."

"What do you mean?" Lucy looked confused.

"I mean…I was about to tell Dean…something," Sam was being extremely cautious about not letting anything stupid slip from his lips. "But…I don't exactly know what it is I wanted to say. I think for some reason, I was trying to put some _very_ jumbled emotions into words. It didn't turn out too well…"

"Sam…" Lucy twiddled her thumbs. "Maybe you were just trying to tell Dean that you loved him…"

"WHAT?!" Sam yelped.

"As a brother, silly," Lucy rolled her eyes.

"R-right," Sam stuttered. "That…m-might be it."

Lucy raised her eyebrows and her eyes widened with a revelation. "OOOOH!!!!!!"

"What?!" Sam jumped back in surprise from Lucy's loud expression of her realization of something.

"I should've known," Lucy's voice was breathless.

"Should've known what, exactly?" Sam was annoyed at being kept in the dark.

"I should've known," Lucy repeated, this time with an amused tone and a chuckle.

"Lucy…" Sam's brows knitted together in frustration. "Tell me what's going on in your sick, twisted little mind." Lucy began laughing. "_Now!"_

"The way he looks at you...the way you look at him…how you two bicker…" Lucy was beaming. "Sam…both of you are head-over-heels for each other."

"What the hell do you…?"

"I _mean_…" Lucy giggled. "You both are _in love_!"

"WHAT?!" Sam said for about the umpteenth time that day. "You're crazy!"

"So are you…" Lucy smirked. "…for Dean…" she tossed back her hair. "And vice versa."

"Ridiculous!" Sam stood up and threw his hands in the hair. "That's homosexual _and_ incest at the same time! Disgusting…"

"Kind of sweet, actually," Lucy said in faraway voice.

"I'm out!" Sam stormed out of the motel room.

"You'll be back!" Lucy shouted back at him, happy that she had made this discovery.


End file.
